ROAD TO F1: Zhou takes F2 pole, while Fernandez clinches maiden F3 pole

Plenty of pressure has been placed onto the shoulders of Renault test driver Guanyu Zhou ahead of his sophomore season in Formula 2, but the UNI-Virtuosi racer got off to the perfect start in Spielberg, sealing his second pole in the championship.

The Chinese racer certainly set a marker ahead of the Feature Race, lapping an impressive 0.4s faster than his nearest rival, Felipe Drugovich. The MP Motorsport rookie didn’t fare too badly himself, surprising with P2 and already qualifying higher in F2 than he ever did in F3.

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Completing the front three for the Feature Race will be Ferrari junior, and Zhou’s Virtuosi team mate, Callum Ilott, who was a further 0.4s back.

It was a more frantic affair in F3, as second-year driver Sebastian Fernandez left it late to snatch his first pole in the championship.

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The ART Grand Prix man beat Trident’s Lirim Zendeli to first by just 0.016s, with his final tour of the circuit. They’ll be joined in the top three by Renault junior Oscar Piastri, who was only 0.135s slower himself.